Secret Glances
by liquid flames
Summary: no one knows how it happened, but it did. She was with him, he hated her, and one other male was particularly angry with her. how was she to know?
1. the Starting point

Hermione tensed a bit hearing his name.

"What happened between you two Hermione? You and Harry?" Ron asked softly through partially gritted teeth. He honestly wanted to know why she was so distant lately.  
Hermione stared at him, shocked that he sounded so... intruigingly sincere... in his simple question. Her eyes clouded a tad as a small single tear fell from her gentle brown eyes. It was so quiet she could hear the sound of the tear hitting the floor, and her breathing in slow rhythms against her chest.

* * *

_**flashback**_

"Hermione wait!! Where are you going?" Harry called after her.

"NO!!" She yelled furiously at him. "I'm going somewhere far away from you! Like my room! and don't you DARE try to stop me Harry. Don't you dare. It's none of your business. You're NOT my father, not my brother, and DEFINITELY not my husband or boyfriend. So back off Harry. Now." She was storming away from him, leaving him standing alone.

"Hermione! Hermione... Please... just let me explain! Please!!! I didn't mean what I said." He shouted, trying to catch up. He caught her arm and forced her to face him. She spun around, her curls in a dissarray, rage showing clearly on every line of her face.

"You.didn't.mean.what.you.said." She seethed, wanting very much to hurt him. "Why don't you try that excuse after you call me someting other than a 'wannabe has-been friend who's no good anymore because she won't tell you everything '!! I am SO curious what you meant by that Harry James Potter!" and with that she whirled and stormed away, fury glowing like a halo around her small body, leaving Harry Potter to mentally curse himself for what he'd done.

Hermione quickly dashed down the corridor, skidding to a halt and whispering her password just as Harry rounded the corner. She ducked inside and slammed the door shut.

Outside she could hear Harry yelling in protest of her stubborn refusal to listen. She giggled lightly to herself as she danced her way to the small library in the heads' common room.

As soon as she stepped inside she felt at ease. Peaceful.

_'THIS is more to my liking.'_ she thought happily. She skimmed through the aisles, brushing her fingertips delicately across the spines of many age old books. All of the different textures made her fingertips tingle. Finally she reached the book she was looking for. Small, purple velvet and hidden in a back corner. She reached in and pulled the tiny book out, removing the pink satin ribbon marking her spot. She found a small table and settled with her quill and ink. She began scribbling away quickly, writing on the empty open space of her book. This was her story. This was to be her memoir, her life. She prized this small book as though it were a trophy.

_'Dearest friend,'_ she wrote, speaking the words under her breath. _'I know we should never meet, and possibly may never have the chance, but I want you to know my story.First, remember this: Life is not a game. It is too short to hold grudges. Live and let live. Tell those you care for, that you do. Let them know how you feel. Take a chance, a risk. And never hold any regrets.'_ She smiled, looking at her handiwork.

"Oh how sweet." A sarcastic voice drawled behind her. Hermione jumped slamming the book closed and getting to her feet quickly.

"Malfoy!!" Yes, it was him that got the privelege of scaring her. Ironic.

"What? Did I frighten the poor dirty mudblood?" he pretended to pout in mockery of her. "Oh goody for me." he snapped. His mouth pulled into a warped smirk and she wanted to hit him.

" How much did you read? And what do you want Malfoy? I've had a bloody terrible day and I am at my wits end. If you push me I will snap and I WILL hurt you. Now spill." she prompted, grasping her wand tighter.

He looked at her evilly, his cold eyes sending chills down her spine. Draco Malfoy rather liked scaring her. She fought back.

'Your little spazoid friend is in the hospital wing, calling out your name. Dumbledore sent me to fetch you. He wants to speak with us. Heads' business I suppose." Hermione jumped and instantly started for the door. She heard chuckling behind her.

'And what, Malfoy, pray tell is so funny?' she glowered. Her brown eyes held small red sparks, ignited by her need to send this boy, this thing, far away from her.

'Well, mudblood, I actually just said that for the hell of it. But unfortunately the old coot does want to see us." he laughed cynically, his cruelty echoing in her mind.

"How dare you!!" she ground out forcefully. "You have no right Malfoy!! None! Don't ever talk like that about my friend again!!" she drew her wand with her left hand only to ball up her right and punch him square in the gut. He doubled up a bit, groaning as he clutched his now injured stomach.

"JESUS CHRIST" He choked out. "Granger, you'll pay for that you filthy scum sucking mudblood!"

She glared for a moment before quickly pasting a sweet smile on her face, kicking him in the shin, and skipping away with her curls bouncing tenuously against her shoulders. Behind her, frozen in his spot, was the ash blonde pure-blood that she'd left in pure pain.

* * *

Hermione entered the Headmaster's office with a pissed off Draco Malfoy in tow. 

"ah, Miss Granger, Mister Malfoy. come in, come in. Do sit down." Dumbledore gestured to their seats. Draco flopped onto his chair as Hermione gracefully slid into hers. Dumbledore gave Draco an inquiring look, his wrinkled brow raising a bit.

" She puched me in the gut then kicked my shin." Draco spat, nodding his head toward Hermione. _"left bruises too, little wench."_ he muttered to himself. Dumbledore looked over to Hermione to see her rather red-faced and embarassed.

"He deserved it Professor!!" she blurted out trying to defend herself. " I swear!!" the Headmaster chuckled slightly then cleared his throat.

"Well then... if you two can behave," he gave them a look over his half moon spectacles " I have some business I would like to discuss. Hermione threw a small sidelong glance at the Slytherin boy sitting three feet away.

"Now as you know, our Valentine's Day Formal is fast approaching." Dumbledore's words snapped Hermione's attention away from Draco's passive face.

"wha- what?" she stammered. Dumbledore ignored her question and continued.

" I would like it very much if you two would handle that. I'm afraid I don't fare so well with decorations, and since you two are currently teenagers, that should imply that you have more knowledge of the teenage mind than I have. You'll know what decorations will be good. We'll need a selection of music as well. I leave it to you. Oh, and don't forget to post each house their invitations. I'm afraid I've kept this dance a bit of a secret." Dumbledore smiled, pleased with himself. They both nodded begrudgingly and got up to leave. Draco had his hand on the doorknob when Dumbledore spoke up again.

"oh, also, I would like the two of you to accompany one another." Draco and Hermione froze.

'what?" they echoed, incredulous. Dumbledore pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose a bit and repeated himself.

"you two, will be accompanying one another. It would be a perfect display of our interhouse unity and cooperation. Now I am finished. Please, enjoy your dinner." he smiled warmly as they walked out.

Outside the door, Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger stood, facing each other. They both had one common thought.

_'Please merciful God, KILL ME.'_


	2. The Unknown Here At Last

* * *

The next week of Hermione Granger's life was spent dodging one Harry Potter, avoiding her book, and setting up for a dance she absolutely LOATHED. 

Not to mention a strange new developement. Daydreaming. For what reason, she did not know, but lately she'd been daydreaming about none other than the horrible rat bastard himself: Draco Malfoy.

Hermione sat in her room, silent and unmoving.

'_oh come on...you know you think he's handsome... he has a _nice_ body indeed...' _a small voice suddenly interjected into her mind. Hermione sat bolt upright.

_'no. I do NOT. He's MALFOY... the twitchy ferret extraordinaire? Remember? I do not think he's handsome or has a nice body. no. Never. It's not allowed.' _she thought, trying to squish all doubt in her mind.

_'yes you do...now admit to it or I'll mercilessly make you visualize EVERYTHING... all his features...everything.'_ Her mind was turning against her now. It wasn't fair! Why her?

Suddenly there was a loud banging on her door.

"Granger!! Open the bloody door! Now! I know you're there!" Draco yelled angrily. Hermione jumped at the unexpected sound and rushed to save her door from an unnecessary beating.

"WHAT?!" she yelled, standing face to face with the pale blonde (furious) head boy himself. Great. Just what she needed. Him, banging down her doorway and giving her dirty looks. Perfect.

"would you make bloody Potter" he spat "go the bloody hell away?! NOW!!" she glared at him, breathing evenly, simply resting on the edge of her door.

"No."

"Why the hell not?!"

"Because, Malfoy, you didn't ask nicely."

"And I am not going to either, mudblood."

"Dark Lord ass kisser."

"Buck toothed scum sucker"

"is that the best you have Malfoy? wow, you've lost your touch. You used to actually insult me."

"that's beside the point. Why the hell won't you make Pothead get lost?"

"Because Malfoy," Hermione said, smiling angelically "at this _particular_ moment in time it would not be smart. I don't want blood on my hands. If I were to see..._that boy_... right now, I would inflict a whole Hell of a lot of bodily harm. His vital organs would be gravy on the floor at my feet and his body would be bleeding from every orophus. Freely. Nothing would stop me from that right now. Not you, not me, no one." Her face glowed sweetly and her smile was still innocent but her voice... that was what scared Draco. She sounded... _happy_ to say these things.

For the first time in his life, Draco not only looked at Hermione Granger, a muggle born, with awe, but he was also _afraid_ of a girl. a bookworm no less!!

"You are... _SERIOUSLY _twisted Granger. Are you getting psychiatric help? Because you really need it." She walked past him, brushing lightly against his shoulder on accident, giggling like she'd been watching a funny TV show. She walked up to the door, opened it and said one word.

"Silencio." And with that Draco and Hermione both walked into their rooms in comfortable silence.

* * *

(Draco's View) 

Draco sat still, layed back against his emerald silk pillows. His music played softly in the background. Three Days Grace. He'd never admit it but some muggle music was actually good to him.

He sighed, closing his eyes, reflecting on the look Hermone Granger had on her face while talking so morbidly about hurting someone. Let alone her _best mate._ That made his day completely. He smirked a bit, allowing his mind to wander.

_'That Granger girl is quite pretty when she is being evil. She might make a good Slyhterin if she was always that way.'_ he unknowingly thought. _'Indeed. I wonder what triggered that episode. She looked really hot though, smiling like that while talking that way. She looked... Sexy. Her uniform seemed to look better on her today... it hugged her curves. God her hips... so perfectly rounded... and her legs, Damn. If she wasn't a mudblood..._'

He bolted upright in his bed.

"NO!" he shouted, thoroughly disturbed by his own thoughts.

_'you know she is though..._' a voice whispered in his mind

_'what? a mudblood? oh i definitely know that...'_

_'no. pretty... Sexy even.'_

He shuddered.

_'Thought so._'

* * *

The next morning marked a dreadful event for both Hermione and Draco. This fact left Draco in a very foul mood. 

February 13th. Dear God.

Draco moaned as he got up out of bed and walked to his bathroom, aiming for a nice warm shower. You can imagine his utter shock when ice cold water hit his bare flesh.

"oh holy shit!!!" he yelled as he jumped. He _quickly _showered, dried off and got dressed. Then he proceeded to stomp over to Hermione's room and persistently bang the sod out of her door.

"coming!" he heard Hermione yell in a disgustingly cheery voice.

She opened her door a moment later, wrapped in a large fluffy towel, drying her wet curls with a hand towel. Steam poured from her bathroom, filling her room and spilling out, engulfing Draco. Hermione's smile tightened when she saw it was him, but she remained as she was.

'_a very good mood.'_ Draco guessed. "Granger." he barked. "how warm was your shower? "

"umm I think about 105 degrees... why?" she looked genuinely confused. He glared.

"Because, Granger, mine was about 30 degrees. Not by choice either. So can you guess why?" he was leaning in closer and closer with each word he shouted at her.

"Oops. Sorry Draco." she giggled looking up and realizing the small distance between their faces'.

Draco tensed and his shoulders went rigid. He looked down, breaking the distance and leaning away.

'_Damn her legs are perfect...and Merlin she smells good... lilacs and lavender with a touch of mint... mmm spicy yet gentle... her hair... god, she looks so happy... and so damn hot...'_ his thoughs were completely wild as he studied her from head to toe.

the way the towel hung on her body, how the water dripped right to the heavenly area just above her chest...

His face snapped up to hers.

"HOLY SHIT GRANGER!!! put some goddamn clothes on!" he cried as he hastily turned and nearly sprinted to his room. He could feel his cheeks heat up as he reddened. He'd been looking at her... and liking it! It wasn't allowed! Not for Him!

He caught a glimpse of her bare back, with the low slung towel draped on her, as she ducked into her room, slamming the door quickly. She was just as embarassed.

* * *

_'oh my god... how did I not realize... I was still in my towel! For Pete's sake! How did I make such a stupid mistake?!'_ Hermione mentally scolded herself. 

She was fully dressed now. A red and black sweater hung around her torso and hips with a pair of skinny jeans and furry boots on her lower half. Her hair hung damply in a loose clip.

_'unless...you _wanted _him to see? oooh naughty naughty Hermione Granger!'_ a small voice prodded her annoyingly.

"no." she said aloud. "no that's... no... I would never...I mean fine, he is good looking but..." '_would i really do that?'_ She was firmly adamant that er answer was NO.

'_admit it... you saw his look. You LIKED how he looked at you... you know you liked it.'_ there was that voice again.

'_no. he looked at me like an unworthy mudblood.' _she thought sardonically.

'_I know you saw it Hermione Granger. Don't deny me the truth. He liked what he saw and so did you. I'm in your head trust me, I know what images you get. Besides if you don't like him, why does it matter?'_

"it doesn't." she whispered uncertainly. "it doesn't matter." and with that she turned off her lights and left for a big day of shopping to find the right dress for tomorrow.


	3. Fights and Tears

Hermione woke up on the morning of February 14th feeling peculiarly... unpredictable. She felt like being random today... and she had the perfect idea of who to try it out on.

* * *

"good morning!" she sang directly into the ear of Draco Malfoy. He'd been sulking in a corner for an hour. There were no classes today so students milled around the school. Dreaco spun wildly around in shock to hear, and recognize, her voice.

"Granger. What the hell?!" he demanded. She smiled and blushed a bit, holding out her hand. in her fist she clutched a crimson rose with velvet-like petals. Small crystals glittered around the curling edges of the petals like snow white droplets, gleaming brilliantly in the light. He sucked a sharp breath in through his mouth.

"what is this?" he asked cautiously. She smiled and flushed a bit more red.

"it's a rose. " she stated quietly. Obviously. he looked at her and then looked away so she set it on the table in front of him, whirling on her toes and fleeing. Tiny tears gathered around the edges of her eyes and she knew he'd seen them.

_"my god hermione... that was SO out of line!! what did you even do that for you stupid girl!!"_ Her thoughts shouted violently at her, mentally pummeling her resolve not to cry.

Behind her Draco watched with curiousity. "_why was she... crying?"_

* * *

Hermione ran into the corridor, turning around the first corner before she stopped. She slumped back against the wall and leaned her head back, breathing deeply in an effort to calm down. She heard herself trying to force calm breaths and that was when she snapped.

"damn hermione, how much stupider could you get?!" she heard the voice call to her from the end of the corridor. a very familiar voice. she glanced down the hallway to see none other than Harry Potter himself, strolling casually toward her. His black cloak swirled out behind him, making him look like a younger severus snape. she groaned and stood up, preparing to run.

_"don't_**." **a voice cautioned her.

_"don't what?"_

_"don't run. just face him and hold your ground_." and so she steeled herself waiting for him to catch up.

"what do you want harry?" she asked tersely. "are you still trying to hate me but rule my life and make my decisions.?" She glared as she saw him drop his gaze.

"I'm sorry hermione."

"no. I am up here harry. If you were sorry you'd say that to my FACE. not my shoes. Dammit Potter, you really piss me off you know? I mean seriously, what's your secret? you and Malfoy would get along great. Just great. So run along. Get lost."

Harry looked up hurt, then dropped his gaze again. "you're right. I'm not sorry. but i really wish you'd forgive me."

"no chance." And with that she walked away to her room.

* * *

The dance was at six p.m. so Hermione still had three hours to kill. She walked into her bathroom, turning on the faucet and pouring three capfulls of bubble bath into the tub. Grabbing a towel, she headed to her room to get her clothes and makeup.

dropping her clothes to the floor, she slid gently into the tub of steaming water. immediately she felt all of her worries fade. At least momentarily. Closing her eyes, she slid deeper into the tub, falling into a trance-like state. For an hour and a half she stayed like that.

Finally she got up, toweled off and slid into her dress. Its back plunged down into a drape over her shapely shoulders. the neckline hung low as well, about an inch above her breasts. A lighter red sash was tied gracefully around her waist and the skirt of the dress flowed majestically down to the floor, accentuating her hips and legs. she smoothed the flawless sheen over her dress for the millionth time, then started on her hair.

An hour later, light breezy curls hung loose around her face, draping down her collarbone. Her eyes were lined with a thin black line and her lips were a rosy hue of pink. She looked in the mirror.

_"oh god... i am wearing this and MALFOY is my date?! Why me_?" she mentally groaned. Forty five mintues_. "oh well. i don't even know if i want to go_." So hermione headed over to her four poster bed and layed across it, trying to untangle her jumbled thoughts. Suddenly the silence was ended. An abrupt knocking on her door told her she was wanted. Getting up slowly she strolled to the door, prepared to see Draco. Instead it was Harry.

"DON"T!" he shouted as soon as she answered the door. she looked bewildered.

"don't go with him." he said, clarifying his reason for showing up.

"harry potter," hermione lowly warned. she could see draco peek his head out of his room with a look of mild curiousity on his face. Quickly hermione yanked harry into the room and slammed the door.

"harry look, dumbledore is making us. i'd rather not go at ALL. really. not with him, you, ron, or any other bloody male in this rotten place."

"then dont go."

"harry i have to. now leave please." So he did.


End file.
